What the hell does FE stand for?

[SFfiredog]

FE stands for "Ford/Edsel
MEL stands for Mercury/Edsel/Lincoln

The designations was to avoid confusion and identify the two different types of engines available in the same car line (Ford and Edsel)

people from Chicago swear LESS than people from the south?
try going to a Bears game

[Rick Yeager]

Just to put more mud in the water, I thought that “FE” stood for “Fairlane Edsel” the models for which the engines were being designed.

I believe the original passenger car OHV Ford V8s were the 130 Hp 239 cu in in the Ford and 161 HP 256 cu in in the Mercury introduced in 1954. Some folks around here did not feel that these engines were the high point in Ford engineering. Lincoln may have had its first OHV engine, a 317 in 1952. I think the 317 engine was used in some Ford trucks too.

Oh, by the way, I was in college before I learned that D###d and Yankee were two separate words.

Rick

[Power Surge]

The Y block came out in 54, with the OHV 239. I know cause I own a 54 Customline with one in it . The 53 was basically the same car, but with the Flathead.

As for the FE thing, over the years I've seen it argued back and forth, but coming from people who worked for Ford back then, it stood for Ford Edsel. I believe (but could be wrong), the FE made it's debut in the Edsel, hence the abbreviation.

As to what "size" motor it is, my opinion is that it is a big block. After all, it's one of the biggest motors Ford ever made (dimentionally). And it was always referred to as a big block, until the 385 series came out. Then the 385 series were known as big blocks, and the FE's started getting called FE's again.

[rabbit1340]

FE is the symbol for iron.

[Maricopa]

F'n Eayy!

People from the Southwest can swear too!

[Maricopa]

F'n Eayy!

People from the Southwest can swear too!

[Bob In Ct]

It's Ford Edsel! Ford made a 221 V8 not a 220, and the plural of Cobra is Cobras not Cobra's.

Bob

[Sizzler]

Originally posted by KeithBrown

Sizzler,

What does your regional bashing have to do with the question? I have lived in both the Midwest and South and can't say that people from the Chicago area are less inclined to 'cuss' than those of us in the South.

You know the old joke:

What's the difference between a Yankee and a "dam#ed Yankee?

A dam#ed Yankee doesn't go home!

Oops - I guess I just proved your point!

Regards,

Sitting down to breakfast on my last day in Savannah, nice sunny day, the table's by the open patio doors, some well-dressed guy and his daughter stop on the sidewalk just outside the patio doors and he starts in on her, using the c-word and more. Then a kid whizzes by heading to the left and a man starts yelling from (apparently) way down the block to the right "Tyler, get your *** a** back here and quit f***"...and more. What a nice breakfast.

Then I sign on here first thing this morning and one of the first posts I see is this one...made a little bet with myself, opened the thread, and (unfortunately) won my bet. I notice a lot more people smoke down there too, don't know if the two observations are related or not.

Here in Chicago, I don't know if it's just because we don't do a lot of open-door dining along the sidewalks or not, but no, I've never heard anything like that here. Bears games, well, that's another crowd. But not on busy sidewalks downtown. Even the panhandlers say "bless you" and "have a nice day", even if you don't give them anything.

Have a nice day.

[davidlee]

I am sure this thread will always strike up a debate but according to the book High Performance Ford by Geoge Reid on page 80 and I quote "The "FE" {meaning Ford Engine not Ford Edsel or Ford Engineering}series big block was introduced in 1958 as the 332ci V-8 with a 4.00 inch bore-----ect.
Oh yea rudeness and language are not reagonal but personal.
David

[convincor]

My "Ford Performance" book say's Ford/Edsel

[davidlee]

I guess it depends on who's book you read as to what FE means. It will be interesting to see if Ford responds to the email request. If they do that MAY settle the debate.
David

[Mohuska]

Not that I am the world's authority mind you...but I just got off the phone with my close friend who worked at the Ford foundry in Cleveland for 28 years and he says it is absolutely....

Ford Engine

[Gasman]

It may be an acronym used by someone reading one of Evan's post....

[Turk]

I bet they hate those Northerners using such foul language while driving through their beautiful charming and polite state of Georgia.

You would think folks would adapt to their surroundings while travelling. Not so with some folks..

TURK

[Cal Metal]

Ford's response will be interesting. Hopefully, they have a resident archivist who can help out, but I wouldn't be too hopeful. The engine is old and so is the history. Too many kids working there that were born way after the introduction of that piece of Detroit iron.

Case in point. I was at the Chicago Auto Show a couple of years ago and there is this gal showing off the new Chrysler cars. Much of the styling was sort of retro with strong accents a la Virgil Exner, the great Chrysler designer of the 50's. I mentioned that fact to her and she didn't have a clue as to who I was talking about. No sense of history and Chrysler Marketing didn't appear to think that maybe a little education on their design history might have been appropriate in this situation. When I mentioned the 300 letter cars of the 50s, the Thomas Special Ghia built cars, and the K-310, she didn't know what I was talking about.

I just walked away.

[TerrysSPF]

Turk: You took the words right out of my mouth

We have a house in Chicago ('Burb actually) and a vacation home in South Carolina 30 minutes north of Savannah. The cursing in Chicago is MUCH worse than what you hear in Savannah.
Sizzler: Were you having breakfast in downtown Savannah (along River St. perhaps?). I would bet money that the people cursing were midwesterners on vacation. About the only cursing I hear from the locals in Savannah are due to the vacationers being loud and obnoxious and disturbing their beautiful city.
They have a word for us northerners that vacation down there; they call us "Tourons". -Part tourist / part moron

As for the FE thing...............my money is on Ford Edsel. I had a friend that worked for Ford in the 80's and that's what his answer was. I work for a company where Ford is one of our biggest clients. I'll ask a few of my contacts @ Ford and see what they have to say.

[Gasman]

Turk, yes we do, and thank you for your respectful comments about the great state of Georgia. We cannot control the disrepectful nature of the damn yankee basturd's electing to use the federal highway system in route to Florida. Hopefully, those passing through this great state do not frequent this website and are not aware of Evan's comments.

As for those Sizzler....who cares, hopeless case. What did he expect staying in a Motel 6?

[Edley Rondinone]

NONE of the above!

Way back in late 1956, one of the engineers in Ford's engine works had some plans for Ford's new engine series to debut in the 1958 model year.

This was in a time where engineers routinely took their work home with them in their briefcases, with little thought to having the companies' secrets stolen while in their possessions.

This engineer stopped in to the telegram office in town , to send a telegram across country to his relatives out west; he was announcing his engagement to his long-time girlfriend.

There was a line at the telegram office, and the engineer was going over the engine spec sheet while he waited his turn.

(Remember, telegrams were VERY expensive, and the shorter the message, the cheaper the message!)

When the telegram operator gave him the telegram request form, the engineer wrote "Finally Engaged" on the form, with
the "F" and the "E" in larger, bolder letters.

What the engineer didnt realize is that he was writing the telegram form on top of the engine spec sheets, carbon paper and all!

As luck would have it, the larger, bolder "F" "E" were imprinted on the second engine spec sheet thru the carbon paper, right next to the title of the spec sheet: "1958 engine series".

When the engineer's secretary got her copy of the spec sheet, across the top of the sheet were the words:

1958 engine series "F E"

She was a conscientious secretary; she deleted the excess spaces between the "F" and the "E", and she final-typed out the line: "1958 engine series FE", on the spec sheet for dissemination throughout the Ford Company.



And THAT'S how the FE got its designation!

[KellerRacing]

Apologies if this was said already, but I always thought that FE stood for the symbol for iron on the table of elements.

Hmmm. Maybe not.

Paul

[lineslinger]

SCOBRAC is right,...
'FRIGGIN' EXPENSIVE!
.Just ask my wife,
all other arguments are a sidebar, she has a knack for having it all figured out, just ask her.....

28 yrs.
FE means Ford Edsel